Asoke Kumar Mukerji

Asoke Kumar Mukerji
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
In office
April 2013 – December 2015
Preceded by Hardeep Singh Puri
Succeeded by Syed Akbaruddin [1]
Special Secretary (Political matters) in
Ministry of External Affairs at New Delhi
In office
February 2012 – March 2013
Additional Secretary (Foreign policy planning & review) in
Ministry of External Affairs at New Delhi
In office
2010–2012
Deputy High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
In office
2007–2010
Preceded by Ranjan Mathai
Succeeded by Rajesh N Prasad
Personal details
Born December 1955 (age 60)
Kolkata, India
Occupation Diplomat

Asoke Kumar Mukerji (born December 1955) is an Indian diplomat and writer. He was Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from April 2013 to December 2015.[2][3]

Early life and education

Mukerji was educated at North Point School, Darjeeling and St. Stephen's College, Delhi.[2]

Diplomatic career

Mukerji qualified for the Indian Foreign Service, which he joined in July 1978.

His early diplomatic career took him to Belgrade and Washington DC. He became Consul General of India in Soviet Central Asia in June 1990, and helped transform India's relations with the five newly independent countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan during the momentous period of transition following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During March 1992 to December 1992, he was India's first Charge d'affaires in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.[2] Mukerji is actively interested in Central Asian affairs. In July 2012, he articulated a forward-looking view on interaction with Central Asia in an address at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.[4]

Mukerji worked as a trade negotiator in the newly formed World Trade Organization between 1995-98. He was among the first Indian officials tasked with representing India in trade disputes involving India brought before the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body in its meeting on 21 October 1998 recognized his "knowledge of the WTO issues was unsurpassed" while approving his inclusion in the Indicative List of Panelists for Dispute Settlement.[5] Mukerji's article "Developing Countries and the WTO: Issues of Implementation" published in 2000 [6] has been widely used in the context of the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations.

He is credited with the formation of the first private-public partnership Indian Community Welfare Committee in the United Arab Emirates during his assignment as Consul General of India in Dubai (1998-2001).[7] This platform, under the patronage of the Government of India, brought together stakeholders from the private sector, public undertakings, and individual civil society representatives, including women social workers, to deal with issues facing Indian nationals in distress.

Mukerji was India's Deputy Ambassador to the Russian Federation between 2001-2005. He was responsible for the implementation of projects inducting modern defence systems into the three wings of India's armed forces during his assignment, including the T-90 main battle tank,[8] the Su-30MKI fighter aircraft,[9] and Talwar class "stealth" frigates.[10]

As India's Ambassador to Kazakhstan (2005-2007), Mukerji negotiated the acquisition of India's first Caspian Sea oilfield stake (Satpayev) in 2005 by Indian Government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.[11]

Between 2007-10, Mukerji was India's Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at London, which is India's oldest and largest diplomatic mission.[2]

Mukerji was responsible for India's foreign policy planning and review, participation in international organizations, border management, and cyber issues as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2010-2012. He headed the Government of India's multi-agency counter terrorism working groups with foreign countries, including with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and co-chaired the India-EU Security Dialogue.[2] He led Indian delegations for dialogues on cyber issues with the United States,[12] United Kingdom,[13] Russia and Japan[14] between 2011-2012.

He was Chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Steering Committee that established the South Asia Forum,[15] tasked with implementing a South Asian Economic Union by the SAARC Summit in Maldives in 2011. He has worked closely with Indian and international think-tanks on foreign policy issues related to major transitions in India's immediate neighbourhood.[2]


At the United Nations

Mukerji spearheaded India's campaign in the United Nations General Assembly mandated Inter-Governmental Negotiations for expanding and reforming the United Nations Security Council, catalyzing the consensus United Nations General Assembly Decision 69/560 of 14 September 2015 adopting a text-based negotiation process after 23 years of discussions.[16][17][18][19] He projected the interests of India as a major troop-contributing country to United Nations peacekeeping operations.[20][21][22] During United Nations negotiations on Agenda 2030, Mukerji advocated strongly for the greater use of technology, especially information and communication technology, to accelerate development.[23][24][25][26] The outcome of the United Nations process on Financing for Development reflected the acceptance of this proposal by the establishment of a Technology Facilitation Mechanism.[27] The Review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) by the United Nations General Assembly endorsed accelerating the use of ICTs for development, including bridging the digital divides.[28]

During a review in the United Nations on the future role of UN peacekeeping, Mukerji raised greater awareness of the need to recognize the value and role of troops sent by UN member states for peacekeeping operations. In July 2014, the United Nations agreed, after protracted negotiations which had dragged on for almost ten years, on increasing the monthly reimbursements to troops deployed on United Nations peacekeeping operations through a survey mechanism of troop contributing countries. Consequently, the rate reimbursed for each soldier deployed for UN peacekeeping rose from US$1028 per month to US$1332 per month, and would rise up to US$1410 per month by 2017.[29] India became the first UN troop contributing country to create a Virtual Wall in honor of her fallen UN peacekeepers, which was launched by Mukerji at the United Nations on 29 May 2015.[30] The proposal by India for the establishment of a Memorial Wall at the United Nations Headquarters to honor the more than 3300 soldiers who have laid down their lives during UN peacekeeping operations was recommended by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations in its report A/69/19 (Para 19), and adopted by the UN General Assembly in June 2015. Participating in the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping on 28 September 2015, Prime Minister Modi called for this memorial wall to be created quickly, affirming India’s readiness to contribute, including financially, towards this objective.[31]

Mukerji crafted the successful campaign in the United Nations General Assembly to have a Resolution adopted by consensus to declare 21 June of every year as the International Day of Yoga , implementing a proposal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to the United Nations General Assembly on 27 September 2014.[32] The Resolution moved by India attracted a record number of 177 co-sponsoring countries, and was tabled, negotiated and adopted between 27 September 2014 and 11 December 2014, making it one of the fastest initiatives of its kind to be implemented in the United Nations General Assembly.[33] The United Nations commemoration of the First International day of Yoga was held outdoors on 21 June 2015 with the active participation of the UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, and beamed live for the thousands of yoga practitioners gathered at the iconic Times Square in the heart of Manhattan, symbolically linking the activities of the United Nations with the wider world.[34]

His contributions to the work of the United Nations during his assignment were positively assessed, especially by his peers.[35]


Public Speaking

Mukerji has been a public speaker at the Universities of Cambridge,[36] Oxford,[37] Harvard,[38] Columbia,[39] Princeton,[40] Rochester,[41] Dartmouth College,[42] at the London Conference on Cyberspace [43] and at the public commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco.[44][45]

Mukerji is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London, the United Service Institution (USI), India and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA),India.

Works

Asoke Kumar Mukerji has published seven books.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.undpi.org/World-News/Syed-Akbaruddin-presents-his-credentials-to-UN-Secy-General.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ambassador's profile, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  3. ↑ "Permanent Representatives of India to the United Nations". Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  4. ↑ http://www.iiss.org/-/media/Images/Events/events%20calendar%20from%20import/2012%20events%20archive/july%202012/67924.pdf
  5. ↑ Minutes of WTO Dispute Settlement Body Meeting No. WT/DSB/M/48, p.19
  6. ↑ https://www.kluwerlawonline.com/abstract.php?area=Journals&id=313133
  7. ↑ http://www.pravasitoday.com/icwc-has-so-far-handled-47-diya-money-cases-since-inception-and-hopes-to-hit-the-half-a-century-mark-soon
  8. ↑ http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/04-01-2002/24035-0/#.VLnzBGA5CM8
  9. ↑ http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_407.shtml
  10. ↑ http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/talwarclassfrigate/ /
  11. ↑ http://investkz.com/en/journals/76/618.html
  12. ↑ http://www.state.gov/p/sca/rls/rmks/2012/191794.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail2/story83454/india-uk-to-enhance-international-cooperation-on-cyber-security.html
  14. ↑ http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2012/11/1105_01.html
  15. ↑ http://mea.gov.in/in-focus-article.htm?3048/Foreign+Secretarys+media+interaction+during+curtain+raiser+for+1st+meeting+of+SAF
  16. ↑ http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/ga11679.doc.htm
  17. ↑ http://www.firstpost.com/world/india-calls-transparency-reforms-un-security-council-1816355.html
  18. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/sep/23/un-security-council-failing-70-years
  19. ↑ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/2/paralysis-over-syria-builds-pressure-for-reform-at-united-nations.html
  20. ↑ "Ambassador's Speeches". Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  21. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/un-united-nations-peacekeepers-rwanda-bosnia
  22. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/what-has-the-un-achieved-united-nations
  23. ↑ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-29/news/46782628_1_strategic-plan-post-2015-development-agenda-inclusive-growth
  24. ↑ http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/UN-Agenda-Should-Ensure-Developed-Nations-Accountability-India/878023
  25. ↑ http://www.outlookindia.com/article/the-sdg-agenda/295415
  26. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snb-_-eW4pc
  27. ↑ United Nations A/RES/69/313 paras G.114 and G.123 dated 17 August 2015
  28. ↑ United Nations A/70/L.33 dated 13 December 2015
  29. ↑ http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/gaab4116.doc.htm
  30. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-unveils-virtual-memorial-wall-for-fallen-un-peacekeepers/article7263356.ece
  31. ↑ http://www.narendramodi.in/statement-by-prime-minister-at-the-summit-on-peace-operations--356824
  32. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/gadebate/27sep/india.shtml |
  33. ↑ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-11/news/56955140_1_yoga-appeal-prime-minister-narendra-modi-international-day
  34. ↑ http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51210#.VbxcZupRGM8
  35. ↑ http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/thanks-to-mukerji-serious-negotiations-on-security-council-to-begin-116013100286_1.html
  36. ↑ http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/whatson/detail.shtml?uid=20100509T023437Z-events%40fe80%3A0%3A0%3A0%3A216%3A3eff%3Afe03%3Ab98b%252
  37. ↑ http://irsoc.org/?paged=11&p=wkdpjzowbpb
  38. ↑ http://indiaconferenceatharvard.com/2014/speaker/asoke-kumar-mukerji/
  39. ↑ http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/intellectuals-pay-rich-tribute-to-ambedkar-at-columbia-university/
  40. ↑ https://www.ias.edu/files/pdfs/publications/annualreport1314.pdf
  41. ↑ http://www.sjfc.edu/news/detail.dot?id=0b3372bd-2eb2-46b9-bae0-fff6c6edad14
  42. ↑ http://dartmouth.edu/events/event?event=34259#.VV6ucJVFCM8
  43. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/london-conference-on-cyberspace-chairs-statement
  44. ↑ http://un70charter.org/schedule/
  45. ↑ https://www.pminewyork.org/speeches.php
  46. ↑ http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/book-on-stamps-released-1.426011
  47. ↑ http://www.khabar.com/magazine/features/celebrating-londons-india-house-art.aspx
  48. ↑ http://webtv.un.org/watch/war-memorials-of-the-first-world-war-special-commemorative-event/3732679115001?page=2
  49. ↑ https://www.pminewyork.org/slide_book/rvsd1_ind_un_70/
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